We knew that it was coming and Asus has now officially unveiled its newest mini-ITX GTX 970 DirectCU Mini graphics card, based on the well known Nvidia GM204 Maxwell GPU.

Based on a shorter PCB, a total of 17cm (6.7-inches) long, which is exactly the length and width of a Mini-ITX motherboard, the new Asus GTX 970 DirectCU Mini graphics card is based on a well known cut down version of the Nvidia GM204 Maxwell GPU, featuring 1664 CUDA cores.

Despite its size, Asus also managed to give the new GTX 970 DirectCU Mini a slight factory overclock leaving the GPU clocked at 1088MHz for the GPU base and 1228MHz for the GPU Boost clocks while 4GB of GDDR5 memory, paired up with a 256-bit memory interface, ended up clocked at 7010MHz. In case you missed it, Nvidia's reference GTX 970 works at 1058MHz for the GPU base and 1178MHz for the GPU Boost clocks while memory is usually clocked at 7000MHz.

While Gigabyte was first with a short mini-ITX GTX 970 graphics card, Asus' GTX 970 DirectCU Mini might be a bit more interesting as it has a slight higher factory overclock, as well as a backplate, something that we are not sure that Gigabyte's GTX 970 Mini-ITX has. Same as Gigabyte's short GTX 970, Asus' GTX 970 DirectCU Mini also needs a bit more room at the top since it needs a single 8-pin PCI-Express power connector in order to power that GM204 GPU.

Asus' GTX 970 DirectCU Mini features a dual-slot DirectCU cooler with a single CoolTech fan which combines both standard and blower fan elements as well as features a backplate which should keep the temperature a bit lower as well. The new Mini graphics card also features DisplayPort, HDMI and two DVI outputs.

Gigabyte's GTX 970 Mini-ITX graphics card sells for around US $340 in the US or €320 in Europe, which is pretty much what you would have to pay for a standard, full-sized GTX 970, so we guess that Asus' GTX 970 DirectCU Mini will not be any different.

According to fresh rumors citing an UK retail source, HTC is working on a mini version of its recently launched HTC One (M8) flagship smartphone.

According to the report, HTC One (M8) Mini will retain the new 90 percent aluminum unibody design but will be built around a 4.5-inch screen. Although the resolution was not mentioned, we will most likely see a 720p screen. Unfortunately, the rumor also did not talk about the chipset but did note that the Mini will have a single UltraPixel camera on the back and two cameras will remain exclusive to the flagship.

According to the same rumor, the HTC One (M8) Mini should be ready for launch in May, which suggest that we might see an official announcement sometime during this month.

Just kidding of course, even Daredevil would've seen it coming, as Samsung and Apple continue their fight for the right to "innovate". Unfortunately, most of their innovations as of late have come on the legal front, i.e. how to spoil the other company's fun in an innovative manner.

According to Samsung's claims, Apple's iPad Mini, 4th gen iPad and 5th gen iPod Touch are in violation of Sammy's patents. The company is pretty much continuing the case against previous Apple devices, claiming that "all Apple products including a built-in speaker and an external audio output port" infringe on this patent.

In related news, Apple has received court orders to disclose details of its settlement with HTC to Samsung, so the entire legal war between the two is seriously approaching angry brat levels. The two companies are to continue their ongoing battle on 6th of December, so we'll see how that goes.

If there was any doubt that Apple would not do well with the iPad Min that has to be cast aside upon the news that Apple was able to sell out of both the Black & Slate and White & Silver iPad Minis in its own Online store in less than 35 hours.

The 16GB model, which is in the Wi-Fi-only configuration, is now showing a two-week delivery time, according to the Apple Online Store. This does seem to indicate that Apple has sold out of its initial supply of iPad Minis. The demand for the $329 priced model seems to be as large as some had projected. The higher priced 32GB and 64GB models seem not to be moving as quickly; but with the smaller size sold out, we suspect that Apple will likely sell out of the larger sized units as well over the next couple of days.

With price sensitivity seeming to be the biggest factor in the decision to purchase the iPad Mini, it remains to be seen how well the higher priced Wi-Fi + Cellular versions will sell. The iPad Minis in this configuration will not start to arrive till mid-November. Sources tell us that Apple is likely to be conservative on the numbers of iPad Minis it builds in this configuration until it is able to gauge demand for this configuration of the iPad Mini.

Apple is already planning the next iPad Mini, according to sources. The word is that the company will be looking to go even lighter and thinner with the iPad next time around. The new model could come as early as mid-next year.

Apple is down to just LG to supply the screens for the iPad Mini and has been hurt by Samsung and Apple no longer doing. Having Samsung as well as LG to supply screens for the iPad Mini would have the best case for Apple, but unfortunately this is not happening.

Also, with the release of the new iPad Mini, the days for Apple’s iPod Touch could be short. Although Apple just gave the Touch a much needed makeover and added some new features, with the iPad Mini having a price point starting at just $329, there really is little room for the Touch in Apple’s lineup. Look for Apple to start winding the Touch down after Christmas.

With leaks and rumors of Apple’s iPad Mini aplenty ahead of launch, it has come to our attention that German retailer Media Markt has as much as 16 versions of the device in inventory.

Many punters believed Apple would price the entry level model at 299 dollars/euros, but the inventory listing shows the entry level wi-fi only 8GB model for €249. There are a total of 16 SKUs in black and white, with 8, 16, 32 and 64GB of storage. The 16GB version is priced at €349, and the 32GB and 64GB versions cost €449 and €549, so no surprises there, the usual €100 bump for extra storage.

The same goes for cellular versions, they cost €100 more than wi-fi only SKUs, so the cheapest data enabled iPad mini costs €349 with 8GB of storage. However, we reckon most consumers will go for the cheaper wi-fi only models rather than high-end cellular SKUs priced at €500+.

In related news, 9to5mac claims that the iPad Mini will not be the only new device at its own launch, as the company is set to roll out a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. The MacBook should also come with a thinner and lighter enclosure and, as usual, higher price, but we'll see soon enough.

Slashgear has come across some interesting info on Apple’s iPad Mini, and it appears that device will launch on October 23.

Apparently, industry insiders claim that the shrunk version of Apples incredibly useful door prop will precede the launch of Windows 8 by a few days. While the actual location of the launch hasn’t been confirmed yet, it is said it may very well be in Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium.

The launch was previously expected next week but Apple’s silence gave way to rumors of unforeseen supply chain problems and resulting delays. However, the sources claim this is not so.

From what the rumor mill churned out and processed, the iPad Mini should have a 7.85-inch LCD IPS display at the 1024x768 resolution. Additionally, it is said a Lightning connector is quite likely, but we guess we’ll see soon enough.

Samsung is preparing a smaller version of its popular Galaxy S3. The smaller version is currently being called the Galaxy S3 mini.

The Galaxy S3 mini is to feature a screen that is much smaller than the 4.8-inch screen that the Galaxy S3 has. Samsung has a lot of people asking for a smaller version of the Galaxy S3 and they never pass up a chance to make a few bucks. The demand is said to be greatest for the Galaxy S3 Mini in Europe.

Samsung claims that the Galaxy S3 Mini will not be a stripped down entry level offering; instead, it will be a full featured offering that is the same thing as its big brother, with the majority of the features that made the Galaxy S3 intact.

It is expected that Samsung will formally announce and show the new device off later today during its formal launch. We will have to see during Samsung’s press conference if it is able to deliver the goods on a smaller version of the Galaxy S3.

Apple is pressing ahead with a smaller tablet that its sainted founder Steve Jobs said would be dead-in-the-water. Apple has reportedly instructed partners in its Asian supply chain to begin production of the iPad Mini, which means that the smaller tablet might be ready in time for the holiday season.

According to the Wall Street Journal the tablet is confirmed to feature a 7.85-inch LCD display and will not feature Apple’s Retina display technology. The tablet is supposed to compete in the smaller tablet market, against Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s new Kindle Fire devices.

Despite what Jobs said, these tablets did rather well, mostly because they were super-cheap. It seems that now that Steve has gone, the mini-tablet has gone into production.

Kontron is launching a new product that throws Nvidia's Tegra 3 into an ARM based, mini-ITX motherboard.

Dubbed the KTT30/mITX, the board packs a Tegra 3 chip clocked at 900MHz. It measures a mini-ITX standard 170mm x 170mm, but aside from the dimensions it really has little in common with Atom or Brazos boards.

As far as connectivity goes, it has three USB 2.0 ports, one of them being microUSB, two SD slots, HDMI and bootable eMMC. The board has mPCIe, mPCIe\mSATA, one mPCIe for 3G (onboard SIM socket) and two RS232 connectors.

The board also has a 10/100/1000 Ethernet Controller and S/PDIF audio. Impressively enough, the entire platform consumes less than 7W.